Association of severe placental inflammation with death prior to discharge and cerebral palsy in preterm infants

Abstract

Objective: The objective of our study was to identify placental patterns associated with death before discharge or cerebral palsy in a large cohort of preterm infants with a high follow-up rate at 2 years of corrected age.

Design: Population-based monocentric study.

Settings: Monocentric study in the maternity unit of the University Hospital of Angers, France between 24⁺⁰ and 33⁺⁶ weeks of gestation, between January 2008 and December 2011.

Population: All singleton infants born alive with a placental examination were eligible.

Methods: Clinical data (obstetric and neonatal) were collected prospectively through the LIFT cohort. Placental data were collected retrospectively from medical records. The main outcome measure was death before discharge or cerebral palsy.

Results: We did not find any significant association between severe inflammatory lesions on the placenta and death [odds ratio (OR) 1.49; 95% CI 0.55-4.01; P = 0.43] or cerebral palsy (OR 1.41; 95% CI 0.43-4.62; P = 0.57). This lack of significant association persisted even after adjustment (aOR 0.9; 95% CI 0.20-2.30; P = 0.54; aOR 0.98; 95% CI 0.27-3.58; P = 0.97).

Conclusion: Our results do not provide evidence for a significant association between severe inflammatory placental lesions and either death before discharge or cerebral palsy at 2 years of corrected age in preterm infants born at <34 weeks of gestational age. Further studies remain necessary to confirm this result.

Tweetable abstract: We found no significant association between inflammatory placental lesions and death or cerebral palsy.

Keywords: Cerebral palsy; chorioamnionitis; placenta; preterm infant.